Return to Nowhere
by Annie-chan
Summary: Followup to Up On the Altar. Axel runs into Roxas upon his return from Castle Oblivion, and the two return to the Castle That Never Was together. Along the way, Axel starts to realize his growing affection for the younger Nobody.


**Author's Notes:** Okay, this is a follow up to "Up On the Altar", which in turn is a follow up to "Lost and Found". You can kinda call this a series, as they fall on the same timeline, but you can also look at each of them as independent stories. You don't have to read them in order to understand them. It would be nice if you did read them all, but I'm not going to cry about it if you don't.

The full explanation of what this little "series" is appears in the author's notes of "Lost and Found", so if you want all the details, go there to see. Here, I'm just gonna say that these stories were originally scenes in a multi-chapter AkuRoku fic I attempted a while ago. That fic ended up screeching to a halt for various reasons. I liked some of the scenes and didn't want to lose them, though, so I'm adapting them into one-shots so I can post them. They're just brief snapshots into the pre-_KHII_ happenings within the Organization. If you want a more complete story, you're gonna have to look somewhere else.

Please realize that I have not yet played _Chain of Memories_. Because of this, and because of my aversion to spoilers, I'm no expert on the _CoM_ storyline. I know the basic premise, but most of the details are unknown to me. So, if I get something wrong here, don't jump down my throat, please. I wrote this based on what I already know, so it might not be terribly accurate. Please be nice if this bothers you, because flames don't do anybody good.

_Kingdom Hearts II_ and all related characters are property of Square-Enix and any other entities holding copyright. Certain things would be quite different if they _did_ belong to me…

**Return to Nowhere  
**By Annie-chan

The darkness parted as Axel exited the tunnel of darkness, emerging in the outskirts of the city surrounding the Castle That Never Was. Clouds covered the sky overhead, masking the stars from view. Only occasionally did the clouds break, allowing the twinkling points of light to show through.

A raindrop hit him on the nose as the portal closed behind him, causing him to look up. Yep, it was raining again.

"Odd reentry point," a young voice commented from the shadows. "Why didn't you come directly to the Castle?"

Axel shrugged, smiling as Roxas stepped forward into a slightly less dark area of the street. "No reason," he said, answering Roxas' question vaguely.

"Hm," the shorter Nobody grunted, stopping a few feet from the redhead.

"Why are you out here to meet me?" Axel asked in turn.

"Don't flatter yourself," Roxas snorted, giving him a look. "It's my turn to patrol the outer streets. I just happened to be here. Besides, how would I know you would be reentering the world at this exact location? Even the Superior can't tell when somebody's coming through one of the tunnels."

"Aw, you're happy to see me, though," Axel grinned. He laughed rather than flinched when Roxas answered that with a withering glare. The boy was so easy to bait.

"My shift is about up," Roxas sighed, as if unhappy with the opportunity to return to the Castle with Axel. "I guess we can head back together, if you want."

"Don't mind if I do," Axel grinned again, putting his hands behind his head. As abrasive as their youngest member could be, he liked spending time with Roxas, and as much as Roxas tried to deny it, Axel could tell that the boy liked spending time with him, too. A budding friendship, perhaps.

"So, I see you're the only one to return," Roxas said as they began their trek through the streets.

"Yep," Axel nodded. "Xemnas told me to play along and act as a comrade, but to 'take care' of anyone I deemed too rebellious to keep in the Organization." He shrugged. "I didn't find anyone to be worth keeping, so they're all gone now."

"How many were there?"

"Five, not counting me. There were Zexion, Vexen, and Lexaeus in the underground levels, and Marluxia, Larxene, and me aboveground."

Roxas smirked. "So, the self-proclaimed Lord of Castle Oblivion met his fate, too."

"Yeah," Axel chuckled. "Marluxia got it into his head that _he_ could take over the Organization, so I figured Xemnas would want him gone." He was obviously amused that a member so low on the totem pole—not even among the top ten—could convince himself that he was fit to overthrow the Superior.

"Weren't Zexion and his team opposing Marluxia, though?" Roxas asked. "Why get rid of them, then?"

"Because I was acting as a member of Marluxia's team," Axel explained. "Get as close to the main rebel as possible, y'know? I ended up clashing with Marluxia's rivals to keep from blowing my cover, and that unfortunately led to them all getting killed, too." He shrugged noncommittally. "Besides, whether he opposed Marluxia or not, Zexion was still up to something. It was in the Organization's best interest to dispose of him and his cronies."

Roxas looked sidelong at Axel, aware that the redhead's loyalty lay with Xemnas and Xemnas only. Well, he was pretty loyal to himself, as well, but he did what the Superior told him to do.

"Do you think we'll find replacements for the five we lost?" Roxas wondered aloud. "I was a replacement for a previous Number XIII, wasn't I?"

"Yeah, you were," Axel concurred, "but I dunno. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if Xemnas goes looking for replacements or not."

"Mm." After a few moments of silence, Roxas spoke again. "You don't seem very remorseful about killing your own comrades."

"I don't see why I should be sorry about killing traitors," Axel shrugged.

"Would you kill me just as quickly?"

"Nah…I like you." He flashed a grin at the boy.

"What if the Superior ordered it, though?"

Axel was silent. He was loyal to Xemnas, and never questioned his orders, but he found himself unable to answer that question. Kill Roxas? Why would Xemnas order him to do that? The boy had a bit of an independent streak, but he hadn't given anyone reason to think he was untrustworthy.

"There's the entrance," Roxas said after several seconds of uncomfortable silence. He was pointing toward a transparent pathway that led up from the streets to the main gates of the Castle. The pathway was down for them, though unwelcome intruders would find themselves facing a gaping chasm into nothingness if they approached. The Castle did not let just anyone in.

As the ascended the walkway, Axel found himself a few steps behind Roxas, staring at the back of the boy's head. His short, spiky, blond hair stuck up at odd angles, making it look perpetually ruffled. Axel thought it was cute.

When he had first met Sora in Castle Oblivion, he had almost gasped in shock, the attitude of cockiness he had been putting forth almost cracking. He could have sworn it was Roxas looking at him apprehensively, ready to fight if need be. It had taken Axel a few seconds to remember that Roxas was the Keybearer's Nobody, so of course they would resemble each other almost exactly. The biggest noticeable difference was the length and color of their hair. The eyes he had been staring into had been the exact same deep-blue as Roxas' eyes, their near identicalness giving Axel a shiver.

Roxas didn't look back at him as they got closer to the Castle. He was completely unaware that the enemy that had shown up at Castle Oblivion had been his own Other. He just knew that it was a Keyblade-wielder like him, and that the Heartless that fell to this enemy's Keyblade released hearts that Xemnas then collected to feed to Kingdom Hearts. Axel suspected that Xemnas chose not to tell Roxas of this to prevent him from seeking out Sora on his own.

"C'mon, slowpoke," Roxas said, startling Axel out of his reverie. The redhead had fallen farther behind, and now Roxas was waiting for him at the top of the path. Axel picked up his pace and caught up with the blond.

Axel smiled softly as Roxas continued up toward the gates themselves. He really was becoming fond of the boy and all his impatient seriousness. Unless he was somehow mistaken, Roxas was also becoming fond of him, though he would die before admitting it. These growing feelings between them couldn't be anything _but_ emotion, even though Xemnas was immovable in his assertion that Nobodies were incapable of feeling such things. As loyal as Axel was, he thought Xemnas was a bit loony when it came to this subject. Hell, he _knew_ that Xemnas wasn't sane at all. He was just a little bit _more_ insane in this case.

_I don't care what Xemnas says about emotion_, he thought, watching Roxas again. _He can't tell me I don't feel anything when I _know _that I'm feeling something for you. I'm starting to…really _like _you, Roxas…_

**End**

**Author's Notes:** There you go. Another brief, random scene spat out of the whirlwinds of my imagination. Okay, _that_ sounded stupid. I don't know _where_ it came from. Anyway, what'd you think of this? I know it just kinda…stops. Keep in mind, though, that this was originally a scene in a much larger fic. I think it does all right as a one-shot, but it does still feel a little like it was plucked up out of something bigger and dropped down in the middle of nowhere by itself. Wait a minute…that _is_ what happened. Bah.

So, ignoring the incomplete feeling of this story, how did you like it? It's not my best, but I think it's all right. Please let me know what you think. Feedback on my fics makes me smile.

**Random Fact:** Tomorrow (March 3rd, 2007) is my birthday! I'm turning 23 this year!


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